Merciless
by Mors1776
Summary: Alternative twist of events from "Stairway to Heaven". When Cas refuses to punish Dean for murdering Tessa the angels are not so lenient and Hannah takes matters into her own hands. My first story so rated T because I'm paranoid!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Supernatural, no copyright intended!

XXXXXXX

An awkward silence followed as the computer screen faded to black, taking the image of Metatron's smug smile with it. Castiel turned to look at the rest of the angels, their looks of loyalty and trust had been replaced with suspision and caution as they surveyed him. Dean glanced at his brother, noting the tense set of Sam's shoulders and knew he too was preparing himself for the fight. Hannah broke the silence, stepping forward "is it true?" she asked "did you send those angels to die in your name?", "no" Cas replied sternly holding her gaze "this is all part of Metatron's plan, he's lying". A few of the watching angels edged closer, wanting to hear every word. "Did he lie about your grace?" Hannah asked, watching as Cas appeared to shrink slightly, his eyes darting to the dozen pairs watching him closely. "It's complicated" he answered slowly, knowing Metatron had tactfully placed that truth. Hannah looked disbelievingly at their 'commander' "so it _is_ true, your grace is stolen" Cas' eyes returned so his most loyal follower "I did what I had to do" he said simply "everything else Metatron said was a lie". A few of the angels around him shifted uncomfortably, it didn't take a genius to see they didn't believe him. "You believe me don't you?" Cas suddenly asked, eyes boring into Hannah's as he read the doubt shadowing them. "I want to believe you but I-" she began, turning to look at the rest of the angels, noting the distrust on their faces. "We need proof" she announced as murmured agreement spread throughout the room. Cas stepped forward, hard determination on his face "name it". Hannah watched him with curiosity in her eyes before her gaze drifted to land on Dean standing slightly behind their leader "punish him" she said, eyes never leaving the green of Deans'. Dean started slightly at the unexpected turn of events, "what?" he mumbled stupidly, returning Hannah's gaze, unable to hide the surprise on his face. "He murdered Tessa, he broke our rules" Hannah remarked coldly, turning back to face Castiel's shocked expression. Dean laughed humorlessly "ya'll can go to hell" he began heading for the door. "Dean" Cas tried to warn his friend as two angels roughly grabbed Dean's navy jacket, halting his exit and spinning him round to face Hannah and their leader. "Wait a second" Sam shouted, his forward movement to his brother caught short as he too was gripped tightly by two angels. "You gave us order Castiel" Hannah continued, eyes never leaving the blue in front of her, ignoring the scuffle occurring behind them "and we gave you our trust". Dean stopped struggling against the arms around him to glance at his friend, momentarily shocked to see the stalling and unsureness on Cas' face "don't lose it over one man". Hannah's words echoed in the room, as she withdrew an angel blade from her sleeve holding it out to the angel before her "this is justice".

Time seemed to stand still as every eye on the room watched Castiel, his eyes moved slowly down to stare at the blade being handed to him. A thick silence fell as he reached out a weathered hand to grasp it, a torrent of emotions flashing over his face. Behind him Sam watched in horror as their friend accepted the blade, his eyes shot from the silver weapon to the angel's face, shock paling his features. Cas' eyebrows knitted together as he drew the blade up in front of him, surveying it. Dean felt like he had been punched in the gut as he watched his closest friend curl his fingers around the weapon, his green eyes made their way slowly up to focus on the blue of the angel's. All walls suddenly demolished as the pain leaked out of their emerald depths. Was this really going to happen again? He'd been handed enough betrayals to last a lifetime, a few of them coming from the trench coat clad man in front of him. He couldn't let himself believe Cas was going to do this again, even after what he had said to him about trust. Cas' eyes shot up to meet Deans', seeing the pain and uncertainty in his friends' face threw him as he stared back with wide eyes. They stared at each other for what seemed like a lifetime, a thousand quiet words and shared memories passed between them with lightning speed. Dean watched as Cas faltered, doubt making his lip tremble slightly, the lines across his face becoming deeper. Cas broke suddenly out of his reverie as he watched Dean's mouth press together in a thin line, blinking heavily with defeat as he accepted his fate. Cas opened his mouth, his lips continued to quiver as he sought the words, the emotions from his time as a human threatening to boil over. His loyalty to the angels, to the cause versus his love for humanity, for his best friend, who would sacrifice himself in an instant yet did not believe he was worth being sacrificed for. "No" the word was quiet and seemed to reverberate through the room "I can't". Dean's eyes dropped slightly as he heard the words, relief washing through him, mixed with emotions he had been repressing since the fight with his brother. Cas still cared about him, still believed in him even after Dean's earlier outburst. Sam released a breath he wasn't entirely aware he had been holding as he watched the angel lower the blade. Dean chanced a glance at Hannah, almost feeling the chagrin pouring off the angel as her eyes bore into Castiel's, the weapon coming to rest limply at his side. "Think about what you are doing Castiel" she said coldly. He unwaveringly returned her gaze, eyes matching her hostile tone "I won't hurt Dean". The words seem to ripple through the room, uprooting the past in flashing high definition. Dean bloody and broken, Cas holding an angel blade above the hunter, "we're family, we need you", a rapid scene change, Naomi giving him the ultimatum, "them or us Castiel". A choice made. "I need you", angel blade falling, clattering to the floor, a weathered hand reaching for his friend.

Cas blinked suddenly, surprised at the unexpected onslaught of memories bombarding him, he took a shaky breath, realizing he had retained more of his humanity that he had previously thought, or was it the result of his dwindling grace? His eyes flickered to his best friend, smiling internally at the gratitude and relief on the older Winchester's face as he returned the angel's gaze, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Well" Hannah's voice cut through the silence like a knife, Cas flinched slightly at the dangerous undercurrent of her voice. "You have made your choice Castiel, your are no longer our leader, I will ensure order is kept" she turned to face Dean "take him to the cell, if Castiel is too weak to uphold our rules we will make an example of this human" she spat the last word like it dirtied her mouth. Dean stiffened as he felt the angels around him tighten their grip as more pairs of hands roughly grabbed him, he struggled against their hold, restraining the urge to start throwing punches as the hands unmercifully began dragging him across the room. Cas froze, "Dean!" Sam yelled, creating a fuss of his own as he began charging for his brother, fighting furiously against the angels blocking his path "Cas!" the younger hunter shouted, eyes meeting the angels', pleading for his friend to do something. Cas felt the young man's panicked voice unlock his limbs and he made for Hannah "please listen to me, you don't-" he was cut off as a tall angel landed a crushing hit to the back of his head. He crumpled into a messy pile of beige on the hard floor. Dean felt rage pulse within him as he helplessly watched his friend fall, he began relentlessly throwing punches, not caring what or who his powerful fists made contact with. He knew he'd felt the crunch of knuckles crashing into jaws and faces and felt raw satisfaction knowing he'd more than likely knocked a few out cold. He was making good progress before a burly angel halted his animalistic rampage, sending a well-placed blow smashing into his temple as he felt his knees buckle, the floor raced up to greet him. "Dean!" Sam yelled watching horrified as his brother followed Cas to the ground, heart in his throat, arms going limp in his captor's hold. He immediately stopped struggling, hunter instincts kicking in, he needed to be conscious if he had any chance of turning the situation in their favour, he wasn't about to give the angry beings a reason to send him into a face plant too. He allowed the angels to force him into a chair, stubbornly held his tongue as he felt them roughly pull a still unconscious Cas into a chair behind his own. His arms were yanked painfully backwards, hands tangling with the slumped angel's as their wrists were bound tightly together. Sam held back a wince as the bounds were tightened till he was sure no blood would make it to his hands. He met Hannah's gaze with a steely one of his own as she stood before him. "This is justice" she said, a hint of apology in her tone, Sam's brow wrinkled for a fraction of a second before smoothing as he continued to send daggers flying furiously at her. "I am sorry, he is your brother, and it is a loss I wish I did not have to put on you. But order must be maintained" she turned away from him, walking in the direction the older Winchester's limp body had been hauled moments before. Sam faltered, panic rising in his throat "wait, please, don't do this" he shouted at her retreating back, she ignored his pleas, disappearing from sight. "Cas, hey, Cas buddy can you hear me?" Sam couldn't keep the shaking from his frantic voice as he angled his neck, trying to catch a glimpse of the angel, but was greeted with silence, broken only by steady breathing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! So sorry this chapter took so long had such a busy month going back to uni! This ones a little shorter than the previous but I hope you enjoy it all the same! Thank you for the reviews I have taken them all into account! :) Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters**

Dean groaned as the stabbing pain above his left ear made itself fully known, throbbing to the rhythm of his accelerating heart. He was certain he'd have a lump the size of a tennis ball where that jerk had taken his cheap shot and ended his winning streak. He instinctively tried to raise a hand to prod at the tender area when he found his arms unmoving, restrained painfully behind his back.

He wriggled his wrists as his breathing began matching the pace of his frantic heart, they tingled uncomfortably, pins and needles stabbing at every inch of skin, pricking to the tips of his fingers. He left out a pained grunt, raising his bleary head, trying to ignore how the room began to tilt alarmingly, black tendrils attempting to claw their way across his vision. He blinked furiously, fighting to stay conscious. Eventually the room around him settled to more of a gentle sway, calming the bile determindly climbing its way up his throat.

"I thought this room would be appropriate" Dean jumped as he realised there were people in the room with him, he whipped his head to the source of sound regretting it immediately as his brain seemed to rebound off the walls of his skull. The hunter scrunched his eyes shut, inching them slowly open, desperately trying to focus.

Dean Winchester didn't show weakness or vulnerability, but right now he felt wide open and it terrified him more than he could say.

"Since this is where you decided to kill Tessa in cold blood" Hannah strode forward, placing herself in his line of vision. Dean clamped the familiar facade down with brute force as a smirk played across his pale face "well aint that poetic" he mused, glancing up to meet the angel's piercing stare. His cockiness was rewarded with a sharp hit to the face, his head snapping sharply to the right as an angel he didn't recognise withdrew a beefy fist.

Dean righted his neck, opening and closing his mouth, working through the ache in his jaw "that's kind of a turn on" he chuckled, eyes remaining floor bound, hiding the true fear. "You may have fooled Castiel" Hannah said coldy "but you will not fool us, we will have order", Dean huffed irritably "look lady, or angel, whatever, I did not kill Tessa she ganked herself, pushed herself right onto the blade". Hannah laughed humorlessly "do you really expect me to believe that?" "Not really, but it's the truth" the eldest Winchester replied tiredly.

Back in the now silent main room, Sam worked his hands furiously beneath the bonds, testing them every way he knew how for any kind of weakness. His breathing becoming shallow with the exertion and the stabbing pain of the skin rubbed raw by the ropes.

"Cas?" he tried again, shifting his weight in the chair attempting to jolt his friend into consciousness. "Cas?!" louder this time and hiding none of the panic in the younger hunter's voice, yet the angel stayed silent and unmoving. Sam released an exasperated breath as his hands stilled, his wrists continuing to burn as they dangled helplessly behind him. He allowed his head to fall backwards feeling defeated when it made painful contact with his fellow captor, the backs of their skulls colliding with a thud. The hunter abruptly jerked forward, eyes watering with the unexpected ache now throbbing through the back of his head.

A slight movement behind him had him disregarding the pain and twisting around, ignoring the screaming in his wrists as the ropes pulled taught. "Cas?" Sam tried again, for what felt like the hundredth time. Deep even breathing changed to more shallow lucid breaths as the angel let out a slight groan, shifting uncomfortably in his own restraints. "You ok?" Sam called, slightly louder, wanting more than anything to hear the angel's gravely tones so they could start formulating a way to get out of this mess and Dean, they had to get to Dean. A few moments of silence passed before it was broken by the trench coat clad man clearing his throat and huffing slightly "Ouch". Sam sagged in relief allowing a small smile to brighten his face "I know, who knew you angels had such hard heads" he called over his shoulder.

"What happened?" Cas asked, his weathered face crumpling in confusion as he glanced around trying to recall the events before unconsciousness had claimed him. "Where's Dean?" he suddenly asked, an undercurrent of urgency in his deep voice had Sam's stomach twisting uncomfortably. "They took him" he said quietly "I tried to stop them but-" he broke off bowing his head and once again began struggling in his bonds "we need to get out of these Cas".

The angel joined his struggle, both men determinedly twisting in the restraints "we need to get to him Sam. Now" Cas called to the hunter "they said they were going to make an example of him, which could only mean-" his desperate words were cut short as a blood curdling scream echoed through the building, a sound full of pain and anguish. Both angel and hunter froze as the sound died away, yet still appeared to linger in the silence. "DEAN!" Sam yelled, letting out an animalistic growl toppling the chairs as he furiously rocked them, sending them both careening to the floor.

**Bit shorter than the last chapter! Hope you enjoyed it, chapter 3 coming soon :)**


End file.
